England : Lancashire Whalley - Glasson Dock. A scenic 103 km loop, *DATE CHANGE* SUNDAY 3rd April, 2016

[ColinJ]

Going to have to miss it this year Col, alledgedly it is my leaving do from work that Saturday

Oh well - have fun, but don't drink too much!

 

[Littgull]

It's the rerun of the one that we did. I'll pencil in Sat 4th June for it with the option of putting it back by a week if we get unlucky with the weather.

Good thinking, Colin. Both those dates are fine.

 

[rusty bearing]

Hi Colin, count me in please, unless it's absolutely the worst weather known to man. I'll see thee at Whalley.

 

[ColinJ]

Hi Colin, count me in please, unless it's absolutely the worst weather known to man. I'll see thee at Whalley.

I definitely would not be riding in that kind of weather either and I know that Littgull feels the same way!

Confirmed riders:

• ColinJ
• Littgull
• skupupnorth
• rusty bearing

Possibly joining us:

• Bill (pal of mine)
• Globalti, Gti jnr, plus pal
• MontyVeda (Guest appearance at Glasson Dock?)

 

[Accy cyclist]

Time for my next scenic forum ride!

Some of us have done a 103 km loop from Whalley (near Blackburn) to Glasson Dock (near Lancaster) & back several times over the past few years and we have always enjoyed it so I would like to do it again this year. @Littgull is kindly driving me to the start and back and several of my friends may be interested in joining us. I'm hoping that some more CycleChatters will fancy it too. To save myself some effort, I will copy and paste some details from a previous edition of the ride below ...

This year's ride will take place on Saturday, 2nd April 2016, leaving Spring Wood, Whalley at 10:00.

The ride involves one big climb and several smaller ones, some steep. 103 kms is about 64 miles, so the ride is not really suitable for absolute beginners but you should be ok if you have recently tackled a hilly ride of (say) 65 km/40 miles and not collapsed at the end of it!

The route takes in the glorious Trough of Bowland. From the summit, it is mainly downhill to our cafe stop at Glasson Dock on the Lune estuary. We will return to Whalley via Longridge, Ribchester and Billington.

Here is the profile.
View attachment 122301

Here is a small scale map of the route:

For those of you with GPS devices, I have created 3 GPX files. The OUTWARD LEG (Spring Wood - Trough of Bowland - Glasson Dock), the RETURN LEG (Glasson Dock - Longridge - Spring Wood), and the two linked together into COMBINED ROUTE FILE (Spring Wood - Trough of Bowland - Glasson Dock - Longridge - Spring Wood).

We come back 7.5 km along the outward leg after the cafe stop and that might look a bit confusing on your GPS screen if you try using a file for the full ride so you have the option of switching smaller files at the cafe stop, which is what I will do.

NB These are very detailed tracks which enable you to work out accurate distance and elevation data. I know from past experience that many GPS devices 'choke' on GPX files containing that many points so I highly recommend that you check that your device is okay with the files. If it isn't, you will have to use my files as a guide and plot simpler tracks just showing the turns using your mapping software or route mapping websites.

Meet at Spring Wood picnic centre car park off the A671 above Whalley [MAP] by 09:40 with a view to setting off at 10:00 sharp. If you are late, we will have already set off so you would have to chase after us using your GPS or a map for guidance ... i.e. DON'T BE LATE! Note that there is a 2 metre height restriction on the car park and they now have a pay & display machine. Last time I was there it was only £1, but bring a bit more change just in case.

Usual CycleChat forum ride rules apply - nobody left behind (IF YOU ARRIVE ON TIME TO SET OFF WITH US!), wait at the top of hills for others in your group. The rides are not fast and are more about chatting, laughing and scenery, so don't come if you are desperate to average more than (say) 10-12 mph. I guess that the 103 km loop will take 7-8 hours including the cafe stop. The clocks will have gone forwards by then so you should not need lights (sunset will be 19:43).

I'll keep track of who is planning to ride and will post updated lists below from time to time.

So ... post below if you fancy joining us. ALL WELCOME!

What average speed do you reckon it'll be Colin? If it's 13 mph or slightly below for that distance, then i might have a go.

 

[Pale Rider]

What average speed do you reckon it'll be Colin? If it's 13 mph or slightly below for that distance, then i might have a go.

The rides are not fast and are more about chatting, laughing and scenery, so don't come if you are desperate to average more than (say) 10-12 mph.

 

[Accy cyclist]

The only thing stopping me from saying i'll definitely turn up is the unknown weather forecast for that day and Accrington are playing at home that day. We set off on our Wednesday club rides from Spring Wood. It's only 3 miles from my house. I'll keep my options open and decide the day before whether to go or not.

 

[ColinJ]

The only thing stopping me from saying i'll definitely turn up is the unknown weather forecast for that day and Accrington are playing at home that day. We set off on our Wednesday club rides from Spring Wood. It's only 3 miles from my house. I'll keep my options open and decide the day before whether to go or not.

You'll be welcome to join us - just let us know if you are coming.

A few people have turned up unannounced to my rides in the past and caught us setting off. If everybody on the list had turned up early then we wouldn't hang about on the off chance of somebody coming along at the last minute.

We sometimes have riders join us for only part of the route if that suits them. That is fine but obviously we can only guess at what time would arrive at a given point.

This route starts off with a slowish warm-up drag to Cow Ark, then a quick descent down the old Roman Rd and through Whitewell towards Dunsop Bridge. The climb of the Trough of Bowland naturally slows us down a lot, but after that the long run down to Glasson Dock always seems quite quick, though there are a few more short climbs on the way.

The return leg seems slower. It is looking like we might have a tailwind going out and a headwind coming back, so that won't help. Still, it should be fun.

My friends Carrie, Julie and Kevin came along last year and enjoyed the ride so they might join us again, though they have not confirmed yet.

Confirmed riders:

• ColinJ
• Littgull
• skupupnorth
• rusty bearing

Possibly joining us:

• Bill, Carrie, Julie, Kevin (pals of mine)
• Globalti, Gti jnr, plus pal
• MontyVeda (Guest appearance at Glasson Dock?)
• Accy cyclist

IF ANYBODY ELSE FANCIES JOINING US, POST BELOW!

 

[Accy cyclist]

The weather forecast for Saturday doesn't look too good. Will the ride be shortened if it's peeing down and we've had enough? I can do 30 miles when wet but that's enough.

 

[ColinJ]

The forecast is starting to look a bit grim, isn't it!

If the weather is likely to be really bad then I will postpone the ride rather than shorten it.

The following weekend is already reserved for our local Spring Into The Dales audax event. (I will start a thread about that in the next day or two if nobody else has by then.) So, if I postpone, it will be by 2 weeks to the 16th April. Unfortunately, @Littgull would not be able to make that date.

 

[Accy cyclist]

The forecast is starting to look a bit grim, isn't it!

If the weather is likely to be really bad then I will postpone the ride rather than shorten it.

The following weekend is already reserved for our local Spring Into The Dales audax event. (I will start a thread about that in the next day or two if nobody else has by then.) So, if I postpone, it will be by 2 weeks to the 16th April. Unfortunately, @Littgull would not be able to make that date.

I can't make the 16th due to football commitments. My next free Saturday would be the 30th of April. Maybe a ride out in May could be arranged?

 

[Littgull]

I think we need to wait and review the forecast for Saturday on Friday as it seems to be changing.

Last night (Tuesday) it was forecasting heavy rain throughout the day which would make the ride totally unenjoyable and not worth doing. But today, the Saturday forecast looks far more favourable with light showers and sunny intervals in the morning and dry in the afternoon which would be ok.

 

[ColinJ]

Yes, the weather is very changeable at the moment. Let's make a decision early on Friday afternoon, by which time we should have got an accurate forecast.

I will definitely be organising a ride in May. I am toying with doing one which heads out from Todmorden to join the Season of Mists route at Mereclough and follows that round to Padiham Heights and then down the Old Roman Road to Whalley. From there, we would go just north of Blackburn almost to Chorley, but return via the Commonwealth Games road race circuit at Rivington, then Ramsbottom, Haslingden, Rawtenstall and Bacup. It would be easy for @Accy cyclist to join us at Whalley and leave us at Haslingden. Depending on the exact route we took, it would be about 130 km in total.

 

[doughnut]

Rivington - 2 miles from my house. I'll keep an eye out for that one Colin.

 

[ColinJ]

Rivington - 2 miles from my house. I'll keep an eye out for that one Colin.

Excellent!

I was looking for a decent cafe round there. What is the one at the foot of Sheep House Lane like?

If we do stop there, I think we will come out and ride from Rivington to Horwich and back to get our legs working again before tackling the climb to Belmont!